Hausnotruf is a system offered my organisations such as the German Red Cross (DRK).

People who do not want to move into an old people’s home, but still want the peace of mind of being able call for help in an emergency use the system.  The have a red button on a necklace that they can press in an emergency, which contacts a base station which in turn dials an emergency call centre.  They then send out someone who has a key to the flat or house to help.

Some systems also offer a an option, whereby the user has to press a button on the base station eg. every 24 hours.  If they do not, they receive a call or help is sent out.  This can be useful if they are not able to press their button.

For more details on the Red Cross system, visit www.drk.de.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

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The RMV, oder Rhein-Main-Verkehrsbund is an organisation which brings together different types of transport in the Frankfurt and Rhein-Main areas.

Buying an RMV ticket means that you can travel to your destination using a bus, a tram, the U-Bahn or the S-Bahn – without buying a separate ticket for each system, as long as they all belong to the organisation.

RMV also offers day-tickets, weekly, monthly or even yearly tickets. The area is divided into zones. You buy your ticket based on the zones that you are travelling through.

They are just one example of many such organisations throughout Germany.

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RMV Homepage

DB is the abbreviation commonly used for Deutsche Bahn, the national railway company in Germany. They are responsible not only for the trains, but also for the tracks, stations, tunnels, bridges etc.

Over the next few weeks we will be talking about different types of tickets and trains.

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The Mitfahrzentrale is a place that allows you to find someone travelling to somewhere that you want to go, eg. in a car, and to travel with them in return for paying part of the costs. Alternatively, you can offer to take someone with you in your car and reduce your own costs.

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ADAC stands for Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club e.V, which is Germany’s largest automobile club.

It has around 15 million members and is best know for it’s Gelbe Engel, or yellow angels, a term that refers to the yellow fleet of cars, motorcycles and pick-up trucks that help motorists in trouble.

There are several types of membership according to your status (eg. Student) or the amount of cover you require (eg. European).

To hear a simple explanation in German, listen to the podcast:

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